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Vatorg
Vatorg - Forge, Protection Symbol: Hammer and Anvil, Forge, A Stern Dwarven Face Names: Great Maker, Forger of the World, Father of Dwarves Tennants: "The Five Measures of Keeping: Torag's rules. “1) The worth of a measure is found in its exactitude. Keep your measure firm.(Also seen as an admonition against spiritual laxity). 2) The measure of devoutness is kept in how you keep your word, your tongue and your heart. 3) The Measure of a work is kept sacred. Do not hold an object to higher esteem than its worth. 4) The measure of a soul is kept in its expression. Learn to make and keep things in your own hands. 5) The measure of a mind is kept in it's diligence. Think twice before acting and thrice before speaking.” ' ' Rules: You must learn a trade that builds things, and work to perfect your craft; honor the names and noble deeds of your ancestors; never lie about the true value of a piece of metal, stonework, or gems; never use weighted measures; obey your marital and familial vows; protect, and lock up the things that are valuable to you; set your standards and expectations high and firm; Do not speak frivolously or carelessly; Alignment: LG Home: Fortress of of All Time, In the upper reaches of the elemental plane of Earth, with streams of molten metal, adorned with unbreakable metals and gems, and recording every deed of honor; Domains: Forge, Protection Portfolio: Metal and stone work, dwarves, forging, self perfection Worshipers: Dwarves, masons, smiths, Holy Book: The smelting and forging of metal; and other good works” Weapon: Warhammer and Maul Allies: Vatolis (formerly), Ausbaldis (formerly), Lady Solarion, Lady Hestria, Tyrock Arare Rivals: Vatolis, Lord Fesang, Thaurus, Tragos Enemies: Thalasian, Taighaglyp, Ragnadron, Queen Weave The Rise and Fall of the Forged Children: Back in the dawn of the world, Vatorg emerged deep into the earth, in the dark stone and ground. He spent his first days there beautifying the rocks and soil, placing gold and silver, gems and mithril, seeding underground caverns with fish and fungi; subterranean jungles and phosphorescent lights. He hammered the core until it was warm and inviting, but realized there were none to enjoy it. So he forged people to be like him in his image; more specifically two people; Madred and Murged - The first dwarf family. He forged them from stone and iron and cooled them with his own blood (a ceremony still done by mastercrafters of the dwarven community), and gave them a cavern for them to make their own. In those days he taught his children directly how to mine, harvest edible fungi, fish and hunt, and how to forge; as a stern and loving father. He marveled as his children told stories, and built homes, explored the underground lands, and created a civilization untouched by the other brittle and flighty races. The expanded the near breadth of the whole world, building cities, roads, and keeps; rarely interacting with other races for a millennia. On occasion one of Doombeasts brood would burrow into the ground, and nearby dwarves would band together to defeat the creature, or a mining expedition would accidentally emerge into the surface world to trade with the humans there, or rarely the elves. Different tribes developed different traditions, and grew separate as the dwarves expanded into the underground world. Then came the time of the great collapse and the goblin wars. Roughly two millennia ago, the earth shook and great cities collapsed. Whole tribes were buried under earth, stone and flood. Dwarven scholars theorized that the elves or the humans had destroyed themselves with their foolish and flighty magick. Other priests called for repentance believing it was a curse sent by Vatorg, for impiety. And then came the most common enemy of the Dwarves; the misbegotten goblin-kind. By the time the first reports made it to the Chieftains, the cannibalistic monsters invaded deep into dwarven territory. Unlike the scholars who blamed the surface dwellers and the priests who blamed some sort of heresy or impiety, the chieftains knew that Vatorg did not create his children to live lives of ease and comfort - they were forged in heat and pressure. And so disparate tribes banded together, to push back the goblins, rebuild the collapsed areas, and fortify against the newly awakened giants who started to rule over the dwarves old trading partners on the surface. Refugees from the surface, primarily humans and gnomes, enriched the culture but also finding the dwarven traditionalism rather stifling. This was the Dwarven age of striving. After perfecting their crafts and uniting different clans and traditions, they prepared to burst onto the surface and liberate from their giant tyrants. However their preparation was longer than they thought, which is what happens when you have the patience of a stone. When they emerged in force, the giants had gone dormant with the most rare exception, and humanity had been freed. But humanity when it had been encountered in the Southern Free Nations, and the continent of Ush were rebellious and warlike and chaotic. Dwarven tribes would likewise be influenced by the humans short term thinking and break off to make their own fortune, going so far as to settle a rare floating island, or sailing the sea to the Mongrel Nation. So the dwarves taught the humans how to live, as only the stern and unyielding children of Vatorg could: with absolute strength and discipline. In this endeavor they had their old rivals, the elves of the floating island attempting to force humans into their flighty and capricious mold. The emerging stalemate and cold war erupted during when the vassal states of the dwarves and elves began a conflict that swept the whole world and every place on Airth into war. As the dwarves warred with the elves and their human allies, the goblins re-emerged and the dwarves had to defeat enemies on multiple fronts. Despite noble efforts and atrocities on all fronts, the dwarves held their own until somehow their magical defenses collapsed, and the powerful magics and toxic weapons of their opponents, and whole tribes and clans collapsed. Whole sections of the dwarven empire were vacated, dead from illness or massacre, or vacated via evacuation. Castles, Keeps and Mines millennia old now lay empty or taken by robbers. The dwarven nation is now a third of its former size, with islands of dwarven community who avoided the destruction by not being connected to the main empire. Where the blame lies is up to debate for dwarven scholars; Some blame their former human and gnomish allies, who must have betrayed them at a key point. Others believe the goblins engaged in some sort of treacherous black magick. Some just say that Vatorg has forsaken them, when they put more faith in their empire than in him.